ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal to limit the release of fuel to essential services from midnight June 27 to July 10, cabinet spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.
Minister Gunawardena requested the public to limit nonessential travel and use fuel sparingly.
Sri Lanka is going through a deepening fuel crisis with refusing to confirm letters of credit issued by the country’s state banks, and oil suppliers are also rejecting them due to the country’s inability to pay in dollars.
Foreign banks refuse to confirm Sri Lanka state bank letters of credit: Minister
Fuel prices were also raised on Sunday (26).
Sri Lanka bus operators want tariff hike to account for central bank actions
Sri Lanka has been depending on Indian credit lines for fuel, and according to Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara, the state run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) will need the help of the Treasury for repayments.
The fuel crisis has left Sri Lanka’s roads bare, with even the most populated roads looking like ghost towns. Drivers line up for days in fuel queues, and it has become common to see abandoned vehicles waiting in line for fuel that, according to authorities, is simply not available. (Colombo/Jun27/2022)
